Matrix Launches World’s First Body Heat-Powered Watch

PowerWatch sets the stage for future of wearables, launching as the only smartwatch to harvest energy from body heat to power itself.

A year after surpassing its crowdfunding goal by nearly 1000%, materials science pioneer Matrix Industries is today announcing the availability of its PowerWatch in the UK. The award-winning PowerWatch is the first device of its kind to be powered by the body itself, demonstrating the success of Matrix’s proprietary thermoelectric energy converter.

PowerWatch energy harvesting performance is a result of three key technical advances unmatched by current technologies, namely:

Advanced thermoelectric generators that operate more efficiently than available power generators.

More efficient boost conversion circuitry to power the electronics and charge the internal battery.

Pioneering thermal design to harvest the small amount of available heat within a wearable form-factor.

“Of all the places on the human body to harvest heat, the outside of the wrist is one of the worst,” said Matrix CEO, Akram Boukai. “The head, bottom of the feet and even the inside of the wrist produce much more heat. Yet even with this challenge, Matrix technology is still able to maintain a temperature difference to run the PowerWatch. Just imagine what this power source could do if applied to other parts of the body.”

The PowerWatch runs off body heat so there is no need to recharge it. When the watch is taken off, the data is stored in memory and it goes to sleep; put it back on and the watch turns back on right where it was left (up to two years of idle mode). It’s got an always-on power meter that tells you how much electricity your body heat is producing, making it the most accurate measure of calories burned on the market.

The rugged aircraft-grade aluminium wearable that wirelessly syncs with your smartphone, automatically adjusts to the current time zone, tracks your steps, calories and sleep, and is water resistant up to 50 meters. Even without the need to charge, the PowerWatch still offers the same capabilities of many battery-powered fitness wearables, without the hassle of chargers and cables.

“Research shows that the number one reason consumers stop using wearables is that they take them off to charge and forget that they exist,” continued Boukai. “The PowerWatch was designed and built with the consumer top of mind, functioning the way we want our wearables to function, without any lapses for charging. By reducing or eliminating the need for recharging, the PowerWatch is the first wearable to offer consumers this uninterrupted ability.”

PowerWatch and the special edition PowerWatch Black Ops are both available today on PowerWatch.com, starting at £200 (including shipping and tax), with premium PowerWatch X slated to ship this Spring.